Reading: Apollos (ISBE Article)

Apollos

a-pol´os (Ἀπολλώς, Apollō̇s, the short form of Apollonius): Apollos was a Jew, a native of Alexandria (Acts 18:24), who reached Ephesus in the summer of 54 AD. He arrived while Paul was on his third missionary journey, and there he "spoke with great fervor and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus" (Acts 18:25). He was eminently fitted for the task as indicated by the fact of his being a "learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures," and "had been instructed in the way of the Lord" (Acts 18:24,25). His teaching was, however, incomplete in that he knew "only the baptism of John" (Acts 18:25). Upon receiving further instruction from Priscilla and Aquila (Acts 18:26), Apollos extended his mission to Achaia, being encouraged to it by the brethren of Ephesus (Acts 18:27). 

In Achaia, he was a great help to those that had believed through grace; for he powerfully refuted the Jews publicly, showing by the scriptures that Jesus was the Christ (Acts 18:27-28). During Apollos' absences in Achaia, Paul had reached Ephesus and learned of what had been taught by Apollos there. (Acts 19:1). Since Paul learned that the Ephesians still knew nothing of the baptism of the Spirit (Acts 19:2-4), it is probable that Apollos had not imparted to his hearers the further instruction he had received from Priscilla and Aquila but had departed for Achaia shortly after receiving it. Paul remained upward of two years among the Ephesians (Acts 19:8,10), and in the spring of 57 AD he wrote the First Epistle to the Corinthians. 

By this time Apollos was once more in Ephesus (compare 1 Corinthians 16:12). Paul did not harbor any feelings of jealousy or animosity on his part against Apollos. It was rather an outcome of the discussion between the two regarding the critical situation then existing in Corinth. The mission of Apollos met with success, but the breeding of factions, through the slight discrepancies in his teaching (compare 1 Corinthians 1:12; 1 Corinthians 3:4) with that of Paul or Cephas, had engendered, was not part of his intentions. The party spirit was as distasteful to Apollos as it was to Paul and possibly made him reluctant to return to the scene of his former labors even at the desire of Paul himself (1 Corinthians 16:12). The Epistle voiced the indignation of both. Paul welcomed the cooperation of Apollos (1 Corinthians 3:6: "I planted, Apollos watered"). It was not his fellow-evangelist that Paul spoke against, but against the petty spirit of those who loved faction more than truth. Against those who did not see that both he and Apollos came among them as "God's fellow-workers" (1 Corinthians 3:9), the ordinary servants of the one Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. This view does not conflict with the passages of 1 Corinthians 12:1-7, 2 Corinthians 3:1, and 2 Corinthians 11:16, where Paul alludes to Apollos' eloquence, wisdom, and letter of commendation. Paul wrote not to disparage Apollos but to affirm that he would yield to none in the preaching of Christ crucified.

The last mention of Apollos is in the Epistle to Titus, where he was recommended along with Zenas to Titus (Titus 3:13). He was then on a journey through Crete (Titus 3:15) and was probably the bearer of the epistle. The time of this is uncertain, as the writing of the Epistle to Titus though admitted to having been after the release of Paul from imprisonment at Rome, has been variously placed at 64-67 AD.